Job Resources
These are a few job resources that Jaimie recommends.
Workamper News lists jobs all over the country for RVers. A
subscription is $23/yr. Check their web site at www.workamper.com.
Subscription Plus, for $30/yr, can view job listings on the web and
receive e-mail updates and hotline listings.
The Caretaker Gazette has many opportunities that include an RV
site. Some are exchanges, but they also list house couple jobs paying
upwards of $100,000 a year! $29/yr. www.caretaker.org,
PO Box 540, River Falls, WI 54022-0540, (715) 426-5500, caretaker@caretaker.org
Like working or volunteering at lakes? For volunteer opportunities, reach the
US Army Corp of Engineer Volunteer Clearinghouse: (800) 865-8337 or check
their web site
http://www.orn.usace.army.mil/volunteer/.
Corp of Engineers puts their "work" opportunities out for bid. You can
contact a project directly and find out the process.
Coolworks is a comprehensive site listing employers seeking seasonal
workers, with a section specifically for RVers. www.coolworks.com.
For Federal jobs, check out www.usajobs.opm.gov.
You can search by
agency, by state or for temporary work. Most temporary workers are
grade 5 or less, though they can go as high as 7 or 8. For most
permanent year-round positions, the applicant must have "status" or
be a government employee already. This is rarely required for
temporary workers.
National Park Service (NPS) Seasonal Site www.sep.nps.gov
or contact the Seasonal Employment Unit at (877) 554-4550 for a hard copy
application packet. Individual parks will announce their open dates on USAJOBS, www.usajobs.opm.gov.
You can work in a national park in two ways: one is for the National
Park Service, the other is for one of the concessionaires. Concessionaires have
a license to offer services within a park like hotels, gas stations, stores,
tours, etc. They hire hundreds of workers to operate these services. One of the
best sources for finding concessionaires in the national parks is at www.coolworks.com.
Or, call or write the national park you are interested in to find out contact
information.
To work for NPS, check at www.usajobs.opm.gov
for openings and limit your search to NPS (Dept of Interior). Parks must
announce their openings and you usually have a week or two to get your
application or resume in. Look for temporary or seasonal positions. Most of
these positions are WG-05 or GS-05 or less. Typical WG seasonal maintenance
positions are maintenance workers, laborers, and motor vehicle operators.
Typical GS seasonal worker positions are visitor use assistant, park guide, park
ranger, biological technician, fee collection. Parks may advertise these
seasonal GS positions at www.sep.nps.gov
instead. You can apply at this site on-line or obtain a hard copy of the application to complete and return.
Winter work at Death Valley: Contact AmFac, the concessionaire, at
Human Resources, Furnace Creek Inn and Ranch Resort, PO Box 187, Death Valley,
CA 92328. (760) 786-2311. Check http://www.coolworks.com
for AmFac.
USDA Forest Service: check nationwide seasonal jobs.
Look under Temporary Postions
Department of Interior Bureau of Land
(BLM): Temporary, fire and volunteer opportunities.
www.firetower.org and www.firelookout.org
list fire towers throughout the U.S. that are on the National Historic
Lookout Register. You can do some research here on ones that interest you.
Volunteers man some fire towers and some are available for rental!
Don't overlook www.monster.com for short-term
jobs if you have a trade or specialty.
Do you have aspirations to be a chef, or even a short order cook?
There are a number of culinary schools in the U.S. Several schools
offer weekend courses. The Santa Fe School of Cooking in Santa Fe, NM
offers half-day courses as well. See Shaw Guides Career
Cooking & Wine Schools or Cooking
for Fun. Or see Shaw Guides home
page to find courses on many different topics.
